Being Brothers
by Pizza yum
Summary: A series of one shots for ASL. chapter 4- Luffy takes care of things while his brothers are sick.
1. Bear Attack

**an: Hey everyone! This is my first One Piece fanfic. I am fairly new to the fandom so sorry if I get anything wrong. **

**This is the first of a series of AU stories that I might be doing. I have not decided but If I do them then it will be Ace, Sabo, and Luffy growing up together.**

* * *

"You shouldn't have said those things you know."

The ten-year-old boy refused to acknowledge what his brother had said and kept walking through the forest, led pipe held tightly in his hand. He was still too annoyed and angry at his little brother to care what anyone said.

He heard the blond let out a frustrated sigh. "He eats our food all the time. Why are you so angry at him this time?"

"I told him not to touch it," Ace responded.

"You always say that and he does it anyway. You never get this upset. So, what's going on," Sabo demanded glaring at the other boy. "Why have you been so moody lately? I mean you always are, but this is ridiculous. You over reacted and I think you really hurt his feelings."

Ace stopped walking and turned towards his brother grip tightening on his pipe slightly. He knew that he had been grumpy lately, more so than usual, and he knew he was taking it out on Luffy. He was stressed from everything that had happened in the past few months. Sabo being dragged away back to his "family", dealing with Bluejam, the fire, thinking Sabo was dead and then boy coming back miraculously thanks to a strange man wearing a cloak and a weird tattoo on his face. It was just so much and he was having a hard time dealing with everything and Luffy was there the entire time just being annoying. It was easy to get angry at the younger boy.

"Luffy's too stupid to have his feelings hurt," Ace finally said looking away. He didn't see the pipe flying towards his head until it was too late. "What was that for?!" he demanded rubbing the bump on his head.

"Don't be mean to Luffy anymore. I'm not going to put up with it anymore. Now why did you tell Luffy we didn't need him and that he should just go and live by himself in the forest?"

"I didn't know he was going to take me seriously," Ace defended himself.

Sabo gave him a look that clearly said he was not amused.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I thought it would be like always when I say something mean and he just laughs. I didn't think he was actually going to run into the forest by himself."

"Well he did. I don't know why you're surprised either. He's been more sensitive than usual lately. Every little thing sets him off now."

"Yeah, and it's annoying."

"It's understandable. You're more moody and he's more of a cry baby. It's been that way since I came back."

Ace bit his lip no really knowing how to respond.

"I know you were upset about thinking I was dead for a while-"

"A week. We thought you were dead for a week," Ace cut in.

"R-right. You thought I was dead for a week. So did Luffy. He also thought that Bluejam killed you."

"So?"

"How would you feel if after I left you thought Luffy had died? Even for a few hours? And then you thought I died and then we both came back? How would you feel?"

Ace starred at the blond. He didn't really think about it that way. If he thought that Luffy had died he would be devastated and in less than twenty-four hours Luffy had thought they were both dead. No wonder he was so clingy and whiny lately. And Ace was not helping yelling at him all the time.

"Yeah, whatever." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Let's just find him so we can get back before it gets dark."

Sabo nodded and the two continued their search for their lost and overly emotional little brother.

"Help! Help me!"

Ace felt his heart stop. He knew that scream. He had heard that scream before. He hated that scream.

He turned to look at Sabo just for a split second. The blonde's eyes were wide with the panic that Ace shared. With an unsaid agreement they took off towards the sound of the screams.

"Help! Hel-"

Okay, he took it back. Ace like the screams more than the sudden silence.

If possible he pushed himself to go faster, Sabo keeping pace with him. It seemed to take hours to find their targets but in all reality it took only seconds.

They both burst into a clearing and the first thing he saw was a familiar straw hat lying in the grass. Ace starred incomprehensibly at the hat. It couldn't possibly be Luffy's. His brother never let the thing out of his site. If the hat was here then where was-

"Luffy!"

Ace's attention was drawn from the hat towards the blond that was now lying of a horrifyingly familiar figure. He quickly looked away into the forest and just made out a large bear about to disappear completely into the trees. It wasn't hard to put together what had happened just moments ago. Ace tightened his grip on his pipe getting ready to attack the creature.

"Ace!" his head snapped back towards his brothers. Sabo was leaning over Luffy, his sleeves were soaked with their little brother's blood.

Giving the bear one last look he scooped up the discarded hat before running to help Sabo. Making sure not to put the hat in the growing pool of blood he put it on the ground next to his little brother's head. "W-what do we do?" he asked looking down and Luffy. He instantly wished he hadn't. The blood was bad enough. He swallowed to keep the bile from rising in his throat.

Blood was everywhere, flesh was torn from Luffy's chest and stomach, and Ace wasn't positive but he was pretty sure that he could see Luffy's insides.

"I-I don't know." Sabo had never sounded so unsure about anything in all the time that Ace had known him. "I-I think we stop the bleeding?"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Ace couldn't even look at his brother let alone touch him in this condition.

"I don't know! Why don't you figure it out!?" Sabo yelled tears forming in his eyes. It was at that point that Ace realized that the other boy was scared and was starting to panic. It wasn't normal for Sabo to panic.

Ace took a deep breath and bit his lip thinking as fast as he could. "Dadan's place isn't too far from here. We could probably get him back in less time that it would take to stop the bleeding."

"We can't just take him like he is!"

"Then what do you suggest? If we don't do something he's going to d-" Ace couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Luffy was the little brother. He was the one that made them smile. He was the one they were supposed to protect. Luffy couldn't- No Ace refused to let anything happen to him.

Sabo looked as if Ace had just punched him the stomach.

"Come on we need to get him some help. Just put him on my back and we'll figure it out later. He's going to be fine but we need to _do_ _something._"

"You're right."

It only took seconds for Sabo to get the younger boy situated. He did his best not to cause Luffy anymore pain or damage but neither were sure if his efforts worked or not. With the seven year old on his back, Ace didn't waste any time and took off running as fast has his legs would go.

* * *

Sabo watched for just a second as Ace ran into the trees, their little brother on his back. The blond shook his head before quickly picking up the straw hat and Ace's pipe and followed his brother, quickly catching up and surpassing his brothers. He beat down anything that tried to get in the way. They made it back to the bandits in record time.

Not even pausing Sabo threw himself at the door. He cursed loudly when he couldn't open the door. The damn bandits and locked the freaking door. He pounded on the door with all his strength. "HELP! YOU HAVE TO HELP US! PLEASE!"

Ace by this point was by his side kicking the door. "OPEN THE DOOR!" he demanded.

There was a click and Magra opened the door. "Oh my. What happened?"

"Bear," was all Sabo was able to say.

"Help him please," Ace panted out.

Magra nodded before scooping the boy into his arms and hurrying inside.

About thirty seconds after Luffy was out of their sight Sabo couldn't hold it in anymore. He ran to the side of the house and finally threw up. He was surprised to notice that only seconds later Ace had joined him.

Once they had both finished the made their way inside and settled in front of the door to the room where Magra was working on Luffy.

They sat in silence waiting for Magra to finish and tell him how Luffy was. Ace sat across the hall rhythmically hitting his head against the wall he was leaning against. Sabo wanted to yell at him to stop but couldn't bring himself to say anything. He just clutched the straw hat he still held tightly. Both were secretly frightened that the bandit would walk out of the room only to tell them that they were too late.

Sabo wasn't sure how long they sat in front of the door but it was late into the night when the door finally opened. Both boys scrambled to their feet anxious and terrified to hear the news about their only little brother.

"A-ace Sabo. I thought you'd both be in bed by now," the man said scratching his head.

"Why would go to bed," Sabo asked incredulously. Why would they be anywhere than where other than waiting for Luffy?

"Cut the crap," Ace demanded. "Tell us about Luffy."

Magra looked towards the ground letting out a sad sigh.

Sabo felt the world slowly crashing around him. No. It couldn't be. Not Luffy. Not his sweet, innocent, stupid as a rock, little brother.

"He-he's d-d-dead?" Ace asked quietly. Sabo looked towards his brother and knew that Ace felt the same way he did.

Magra's head shot up looking horrified. "No! No, no, not at all. Well, not yet. No- that's not what I meant. Luffy is alive but his condition is critical. His injuries are quite bad. I was able to get him bandaged up but if the wounds were even the slightest bit deeper or if he hadn't gotten here in time then he would have died."

"Then why do you look so sad!?" the two demanded together.

The man looked down at the two of them looking slightly heart broken. It scarred Sabo to see him look at them that way.

"If he survives the next twenty four hours he should make a full recovery, but it is still very likely that he will die within that time."

Not knowing what to say Sabo nodded his head as he tried to take in what he was being told.

"So Luffy still might d-d-" Ace asked not able to finish the word and Sabo couldn't blame him.

"You both should probably go be with him," Magra said instead of answering the question.

That was all they needed to hear.

Luffy was laying on a futon in the middle of the room bandages were clearly visible. He was asleep but it didn't look peaceful.

Sabo, not taking his eyes off of the younger boy sat down on his right and was vaguely aware of Ace doing the same on the other side of the futon. The blond gently placed the beloved hat next to its owners head. He hopped that it would make him happy if- when Luffy woke up.

Sabo didn't know how long the he sat there starring at Luffy as he struggled to breath grateful for every rise and fall of his small chest.

"Luffy." Sabo's attention was drawn towards Ace. The other ten-year-old was on his knees head on the ground sobbing. "P-please don't die. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it when I said we didn't need you! Please just be okay," he begged.

Sabo couldn't help but stare at his best friend, his brother. In all the years he had known Ace he had never seen the boy cry and now he was sitting here sobbing, loudly. He stood and slowly walked around the futon so that he was now standing next to his brother.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know I'm no good. I know it. I know Sabo's a better brother than I am. I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

Sabo couldn't stand it anymore. "Shut up. That's my brother you're talking about." He dropped to the ground and did something he had never done before. He wrapped his arms around his brother and held him. "You didn't mean for this to happen. I know you wouldn't ever hurt Luffy on purpose. You made a mistake, said some things you did not really mean, hurt his feelings, and Luffy got hurt. It wasn't your fault though."

"B-but-"

"Shut up. You don't get to say anything bad about my brother. Either of them." The blond took a deep breath preparing himself for what he was about to say. They normally don't talk about what they mean to each other but Ace needed this he tightened his grip. "You and Luffy are everything I have. You guys, us being brothers; it's my treasure. You are what is most important to me. It took me leaving and thinking that I lost you in that fire for me to realize that I would do anything to keep you and Luffy. He's going to be fine because we're not going to let him die."

"We can't do anything to help."

"I'm sure we'll find something to do."

The two sat in silence, Ace still wrapped in Sabo's arms both staring at the little brother that they both dearly loved.

"What if he doesn't make it?" Ace asked quietly breaking the silence.

"Please, it's Luffy. He's too annoying to die."

"I hope you're right."

Sabo hopped he was too.

* * *

At noon Magra came into the room to offer Ace and Sabo something to eat and to check on Luffy. When he left the room the food remained untouched.

It just seemed wrong for them to eat not knowing if Luffy was going to live or not.

Ace spent the time thinking about what Sabo had said. Being brothers is what Sabo treasured above all else in the world. That's what he had said. Knowing this made it easier for Ace to admit "You and Luffy are my treasure too."

Sabo looked startled at Ace's sudden declaration. "I know," the blond responded with a small smile.

Ace was pleased with himself when Sabo seemed just a bit happier than he had moments ago. Despite the fact that they did not like to _talk_ it was important that they know what they mean to each other. It was obvious how Luffy felt. He would smile and follow them anywhere and everywhere. He would do anything they asked of him. It was obvious that he looked up to them.

"I think we should let Luffy know when he wakes up. That way even when I do yell at him he knows I don't really mean it."

The blond looked up at him. "Do you really think he'll listen long enough to understand what we are trying to say," Sabo asked.

"He might. You never know with Luffy."

"True, but Luffy is more about actions than words but it wouldn't hurt to tell him."

"Tell me what?" a small raspy voice asked.

Ace felt his head snap towards the little boy.

"Luffy you're awake!" Sabo exclaimed happily.

"Tell me what," Luffy asked again.

"How are you feeling," Ace asked.

Luffy looked thoughtful before trying to sit up. He let out a cry.

"Don't sit up idiot," the older brothers commanded gently pushing him back down.

"What happened? Why does everything hurt," Luffy whined.

"You were attacked by a bear," Ace explains.

"Oh."

"Oh, he says," Sabo grated out, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Oi, where you going," Ace demanded.

"I'm going to get Magra so he can check Luffy out and make sure everything is okay."

The raven nodded before turning back to the younger boy.

He had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Don't think too hard. You're already hurt enough," Ace joked.

"Ace?"

Luffy was already looking exhausted and the older boy could tell he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

"'M sorry."

"W-what are you sorry for?"

"I made Ace mad."

The big brother felt as if he had been punched in the chest. Luffy didn't remember getting attacked by a bear but he remember Ace being mad at him. He could have died thinking that Ace hated him. It was right then that he promised himself that Luffy would always know how much he was treasured.

"It's alright Luffy. I was just being a jerk."

"You're not mad?"

"No Luffy I'm not mad. And I'm sorry that I said that me and Sabo were better off without you. I didn't mean it."

Luffy blinked up at him sleepily. "It's alright," he said with a tired version of his usual smile.

The door opened revealing Magra and Sabo.

* * *

The bandit thoroughly checked over the boy ignoring the whining and hissing of his patient. It was slightly harder to ignore the glares he was getting from the two older boys.

He felt a chill go down his spine when he moved the bandages to get a better look at the wound and Luffy cried in pain. He made a point to not look at the two behind him, scarred stiff that they would actually kill him for causing the straw hat boy anymore pain, no matter how necessary it was.

After he had changed the bandages he was pushed away from a teary eyed Luffy and the two other boys helped him lay down and get settled and soon the youngest brother was sleeping, his rest much more peaceful than it was the night before.

"He's doing well," Magra stated. "As long as there are no complications and he doesn't try to run around too quickly he should be fine."

"Of course he's fine," Sabo stated confidently.

"He's our little brother," Ace smiled.

* * *

**an: Let me know what you think. :) **


	2. The Beach

**So I am trying to decide I should keep all the stories together under one title or post them separately. I still have a few ideas for ASL one-shots and wanted to know what you all would prefer. Let me know.**

**Summary: A few weeks after the bear attack an overprotective Ace and Sabo decide to take Luffy to Fuchsia to visit some friends and to let him do whatever he wants to do. They have a nice day at the beach, but somebody should have told the old neighborhood bullies about Luffy's new brothers.**

* * *

**The Beach**

"Luffy slow down and wait for us," Ace called out to his little brother who was bouncing a little way down the road, completely oblivious of his surroundings and completely unarmed. "You're still recovering!" The blonde next to him let out a sigh of slight annoyance. The two older brothers were causally walking down the road, led pipes held loosely in their hands. They didn't anticipate any trouble today but they weren't going to take any chances.

Not when Luffy was finally better.

It had been a few weeks since the bear attack and it was the first day that Ace and Sabo felt comfortable to let him leave the safety of Dadan's home.

The seven year old stopped and cocked his head to the side and waited for his brothers to catch up. Ace noted that the little boy was still bouncing, excited to get where they were going.

"Are you excited or something," Sabo asked when they reached the point where Luffy was waiting for them.

"It's been forever since I've seen Makino," he responded with his famous grin.

"I bet she'll be really happy to see you," the blond commented as all three continued down the road together, the little brother in the middle. Ace and Sabo had made the decision after Luffy had recovered from an infection from his wounds last week that when their little brother was feeling better they would take him to his old village so that he could visit the bar maid and anyone else he might want to see.

Luffy had been so excited when they told him about their plans the night before they hadn't been able to get him to sit still since.

Ace was relieved to see Luffy so active.

It had been so strange to see him just lying there completely still during the days after the attack. He spent the first three days after the _incident_ asleep, only waking when Magra checked his wounds. After that the infection set in.

Ace felt himself shiver as he remembered how bad it had been. He had developed an unnaturally high fever that, when he was conscious, made Luffy delirious. Neither he nor Sabo would be able to get the sounds of Luffy screaming for them to come back out of their heads. In his delirium Luffy was convinced that his brothers were gone and were never going to be back. Nothing convinced him that they were alright even the two of them yelling at him, which had never failed, would stop the tears.

Poor kid was inconsolable.

When the fever finally broke and started to go down Ace nearly started crying in relief. It was during those terrible hours that finally made him realize what he meant to his little brother. He felt terrible that it took Luffy being in such pain to make him realize it. He felt guilty about it but Luffy calling out for him and Sabo and only him and Sabo, it made him feel important and _wanted._

"When we get to Fuchsia can we go to the beach," Luffy asked breaking Ace out of his thoughts.

"We'll do whatever you want to," he responded instantly.

This trip was for Luffy. It was for him to visit his friends in the village, for him to get to do all the things he missed now that he lived in the forest. This trip was for Luffy to be annoying and happy and bouncy and smiley.

"Yay!" Luffy cheered throwing his hands above his head as he cheered.

Ace and Sabo exchanged smiles at finally seeing Luffy be his happy and carefree self. They had missed this more than either of them really wanted to admit to anyone outside of their small and ragtag family the three of them had become.

"We can got to Party's bar and see Makino first," Luffy decided. "And then we can go to the beach."

"Is that it," Sabo asked.

"What else is there to do," Luffy asked.

This caused the two older boys to both raise an eyebrow. They had been expecting a list of friends that he wanted to visit because even though Luffy said that he had been lonely before they had accepted him it was hard to imagine that Luffy was not constantly surrounded by friends.

"I'm sure they'll be plenty to do," Sabo responded smiling down at his brother. Luffy returned it with his own grin.

* * *

Sabo sat on the beach watching with a smile as his two brothers pushed and molded the sand in what Luffy had decreed a fort. Luffy didn't want to make a sand castle he wanted to make a sand fort. And he wanted Ace to help. It was a testament just how worried the older boy had been in the past few weeks that he didn't argue. He just to pack sand together only to be told that he was doing it wrong.

Sabo had been truly surprised when they had arrived in the small village and no children had come to whisk Luffy off to play.

They had arrived in Fuchsia when the shops and the bar were just opening for the day. The visit with Makino had been short but sweet. She had obviously been pleased to see the kid and had hugged him for a while and listened patiently as Luffy told her about the beetle he had found yesterday. She congratulated boy on his find before turning towards Sabo and Ace. She smiled at them as she greeted them and asked them how they were. They both said they were well and chatted with the barmaid for a few minutes before Luffy announced, loudly, that he was bored.

Makino had lightly scolded the boy for being rude before asking what they were going to do that day. Once she found out they were going to spend the day at shore she packed them a lunch and requested that they come see before they headed home.

"Sabo!" the blond looked up towards the straw hat wearer. "You have to learn too," Luffy stated.

"What," he asked confused about what he was supposed to be learning.

"You have to learn how to build a sand fort. Ace doesn't know how to do it cuz he grew up in the forest and you grew up in the city so you have to learn to."

The logic of the statement actually made since. Considering it was Luffy.

"Yeah Sabo, come learn," Ace encouraged causing the blond to raise an eyebrow. Ace didn't do stuff like this willingly and he didn't look so happy about it when he was forced to. "It's actually fun."

Ace had something was fun. Ace had said that something that did not involve fighting was fun. Sabo did not know how to respond.

He didn't have to.

"Come on. Come on. Come on," Luffy said pulling on his hand until Sabo had joined the other two. And surprisingly it was fun. Not only was it fun but Luffy actually was a good teacher. He told them where to build so that the waves wouldn't wash away their work and how much water to add to the sand to make it so it would stick together just right.

After a few hours and six wrecked forts later they decided that they were done and it was time for lunch. They each looked at their masterpieces and smiled. None of their forts could be considered a work of art, in fact Ace's just looked like a pile of dirt, Sabo's didn't look much better. But he just said it was supposed to look like that and Luffy when complemented him on doing such a good job Sabo couldn't help but laugh, ignoring the glare that Ace sent his way. Luffy's fort actually resembled a building of some sort and given his artistic capabilities Sabo was impressed.

As they sat munching on the sandwiches Makino made for them Sabo couldn't help but ask "Luffy where did you learn to make sand forts?"

"Shanks taught me," he answered before taking a big bite.

"Shanks?" Ace asked looking curious.

It's true that Luffy had mentioned the name before but neither of the boys actually knew who he was.

"Yeah, he's a pirate," Luffy said absentmindedly. He looked up from his meal. "He gave me my hat," he concluded with a grin.

Sabo smiled back at Luffy just happy to see him so cheerful. The fever that he had suffered from had been horrible. Too lost in his delirium the kid couldn't tell anyone what was wrong. He just screamed and cried and it was horrible. It had been during one of the episodes where Luffy was crying for him and Ace to come back for him, screaming and choking, that Sabo had discovered that the only way to calm the seven year old down was to hold him. Sabo, not knowing what else to do to convince his delirious little brother that they were alright did the only thing he could think of; he grabbed Luffy and hugged him. He knew Ace had been surprised by the move but within seconds the crying had started to stop much to both of their relief. After that moment every time would start up again Ace or Sabo, sometimes both, would simply hold the boy until he fell asleep.

It was nice to know that just their presence could make Luffy feel better.

"Can we go see the tide pools now," the question brought the blond out of his musings.

"Sure," Ace said standing up and brushing sand off his shorts.

"Tide pools?"

* * *

Luffy sat hunched on the rocks that surrounded the tide pool he was currently looking at. He had been able to find a good one that was teaming with life. He giggled as he watched a crab scuttle across the coral. He loved watching the tide pools he had spent hours just staring into the pools during the afternoons he spent waiting for Shanks to come back to their island after one of his adventures.

He looked over at his brothers to see what they were up to. Ace was laying on the beach, hands behind his head asleep. Sabo was further down picking up shells. Luffy smiled. He knew that his big brothers would like the beach as much as he did. Ace and Sabo had never had the chance to play on the shore like he had.

It was fun to play with them instead of by himself.

He turned his attention back to the water and the creatures that were living in the confined space. He had to say they were really cool to watch. The crabs were his favorites. He leaned over some more to get a better look the animals in the water.

"Luffy be careful!"

He cocked his head to the side and turned to see Sabo watching him. "I know!" he called back. He rolled his eyes before turning back to the water. He really wanted to reach out and pick up one of the crabs but he knew that water would drain him even if it was just his hands in the water and Ace and Sabo wouldn't be happy with him.

Just as he was about to reach in a firm voice stopped him. "Luffy! Don't be stupid!"

"Sorry Sabo," he pouted. He really wanted to play with the really cool crab.

"Just get away from there," the blond yelled from where he was still collecting shells.

"I don't wannna!"

"Just stay away from the water!"

"Fine."

He turned his attention back to the water ignoring the laughter he heard that was coming towards them.

It was only a few minutes before a group of boys that Luffy unfortunately recognized arrived at the shore the three brothers were currently occupying.

"Hey guys look its Luffy," one of the boys called.

"What's he doing here?" another asked looking disgusted.

Luffy wanted to yell at them to shut up but he decided against it. It just wasn't worth it.

"I thought he died." A third stated. The voices were getting closer to him.

Luffy concentrated on just looking at the water and ignoring the other boys.

"Yeah, I thought that his grandpa dropped him off a cliff." The first spoke again.

"It would've been better if he had died." The third concluded and all three laughed.

Luffy stood up and moved around on the rock so that he could get a better look at the new crab that had just scuttled into view.

"So if you're not dead yet Freak what have you been doing all this time?" the first boy asked.

The dark haired boy didn't look up.

"Hey! You go deaf Freak?" The voice was a lot closer than it had been.

The straw hatted boy looked up to see the three boys, all older than Ace and Sabo, now looming over him. He had had run-ins with them before and knew that he could beat them in a fight. The problem was all the adults got mad at him when he fought them. Makino and Shanks both told him that if they bothered him again he should just ignore them or he would get into trouble.

So ignore them is what he did. He looked back towards his crab.

A growl was heard before he was kicked in the face, hard enough to make him fly several feet closer to the sea. He wanted to punch the other boys but knew he couldn't so he just got up and tried to walk past them.

He didn't take two steps before the first rock hit him in the head.

It didn't hurt.

He was rubber after all.

But it was still annoying.

"Stop that," he complained as more rocks were thrown at him.

He took a step back, trying to get away.

One of the older boys pushed him down.

"Why don't you make us _Freak_?"

Luffy tried to stand up and was hit in the head with a rock. He gasped in surprise when it actually hurt. "Owe," he complained bringing his hands up to the spot that was just hit. He frowned when he felt something wet. He inspected his hand and was surprised to see blood. "That hurt Robbie!"

"Hey looks like that one hurt him!" The second boy from before laughed.

"Good idea Tom! Find sharp rocks!" the third, Freddie cheered.

"Let's make it so the freak will never come back to where he's not wanted!" Robbie agreed.

The three older boys smiled as they advanced on the seven year old.

* * *

Sabo was enjoying himself. He had never been to the beach just to play before. Whenever he had made his way to the shore he didn't have time to enjoy the ocean he so dearly loved. He was happy with his little brother's decision to play at the beach today.

He picked up a bright colorful shell. "Luffy would probably like this one," he concluded before adding it to his growing pile. He was happy he decided to bring his back with him so he was able to take them home with him.

Speaking of Luffy. He looked back towards the boy. Luffy being by the water without supervision made him nervous. He loved the kid but he was stupid enough to fall into the water without either him or Ace noticing.

He frowned when he noticed three other boys all gathered around Luffy, who was holding his head. He started making his way towards his little brother wondering who those three were. Maybe they were friends from when Luffy lived in Fuchsia?

He was shocked when the three started to throw something at his little brother. He grew angry when Luffy started scooting away yelling at them to stop.

Why didn't he just fight back?

He dropped his bag and started running when Luffy reached the end of the rock and the only place he had left to go was towards the boys or into the sea.

"STOP!" He heard Luffy yell; loudly.

Sabo would have laughed at the confused face Ace made at being woken by Luffy's scream as he passed if it wasn't for the fact that the three boys were now trying to push his_ baby brother_ into the ocean.

How dare they?

"Hey!" he heard Ace snarl as he caught up taking in the scene before them.

The group didn't seem to hear the enraged yell and now the other three had picked Luffy up and were now trying to throw him into the water.

Sabo had never been so grateful that Luffy was made out of rubber when he reached around the boys and latched onto the rock just as they threw him. He knew that he and Ace would reach Luffy before anything happened but they still didn't like the idea of him in the ocean if it could be helped.

"Come on Freak you're just going for a short swim." One of the boys said as he stomped on Luffy's hand.

The seven year old yelped in pain but didn't let go even as the boy continued stomping.

The kid was on the ground before he knew what hit him.

Ace tacked the jerk to the ground and was now sitting on top of him punching the kid's face. Repeatedly.

"SABO! HELP!"

The blonde reached the other two and shoved them away from his little brother before pulling Luffy away from the water and pushed him towards the sand. Once satisfied that their little brother was safely away from the bullies Sabo cracked his knuckles before turning to the other two.

"This doesn't concern you kid," one spoke up, the other nodding in agreement.

"The hell it doesn't. You just tried to murder my baby brother."

The two were knocked down by the third flying into them. "And now you have to pay," Ace stated eyes shadowing over.

"Robbie are you okay?" One of the boys asked helping the other up.

"I'm fine Tom."

"W-wait we weren't going to kill him or nothin'." The third spoke up.

"Yeah what Freddie said, the water isn't that deep," Tom spoke.

Sabo looked down at the water. It was just deep enough for Luffy to be completely covered and that was more than enough for him to drown.

Ace didn't wait for anymore words. He just knocked the three back sending them into the water.

"Ace! No!" Luffy yelled pulling on his arm.

"Get back to the beach," Sabo commanded

"No! Makino said that I would get in trouble if I fought with them. I don't want you guys to get into trouble."

Well that explained why Luffy didn't fight back.

Sabo felt his anger leaving now that he knew that his brother was safe and was in fact worried about him and Ace.

"It'll be fine," Ace said wrapping his arm around Luffy, leading him back to the safety the sand provided.

"Yeah. No one is going to yell at us for protecting our little brother," Sabo said as he picked his bag back up. He picked up his pipe and tossed Ace's his. "I think it's time we head back," he said placing a hand on top of Luffy's straw hatted head.

"Stop right there you freaks!"

"You should really come up with a better insult," Ace grumbled before he turned to face the three now dripping wet boys.

"You can't blame them for their lack of intellect," Sabo stated. "It must be something in the drinking water that makes all kids from this town morons."

"What?" Luffy asked cocking his head to the side looking as if he wasn't sure if he should be offended or not.

"D-did you just call us stupid?!" Robbie demanded.

"Wow you're even slower than Luffy. At least he knows when someone his calling him stupid," Ace said laughing.

"Ne, Ace can we go home now. This isn't fun anymore," Luffy cut in.

"Yeah run on home _Freak,_" Freddie taunted as Robbie hurled a rock at the youngest boys head.

Sabo knocked it out of the air with his pipe before stalking towards the others. He grabbed the one that had just thrown the rock by the shirt and pulled him up.

"Look. I don't know what you got away with before with Luffy but now if you mess with him you're gonna have to deal with us. And trust me when I say if you hurt the kid ever again you aren't going to live to regret it."

Sabo knew that he had gotten his point across when the other boy went pale and nodded his head. He threw Robbie down onto the sand before turning back towards his brothers. Ace was glaring at the others while Luffy was sitting there looking confused and picking his nose.

"Let's go. Makino wanted us to go say bye before we headed back to the mountains," the blond said with a smile grabbing each of his brothers' wrists and dragging them back towards the bar.

* * *

**An: Love it? Hate it? Please let me know what you think.  
**


	3. Farewell

**So I didn't really to mean to write this. I just sat down and started typing and this is what came out. **

**I adore the thought of Luffy and Sabo on the Moby Dick with Ace before Luffy starts his journey. Lately I have been playing with an idea where ASL grow up with the Whitebeard Pirates and I wanted to write about Luffy leaving the Moby Dick.**

**This is very AU! Characters might be OOC.**

* * *

**Farewell**

The Moby Dick was floating peacefully in the East Blue, a fact that probably had the marines and nobles alike freaking out. Ace And Sabo sat gloomily by Pops' chair watching as Luffy made preparations to leave. They hadn't actually thought this day would actually come, the day Luffy was actually going to leave them. Sure the younger teen had been talking about leaving to be pirate king since they met him but things were different than when they met.

Ten years ago Garp had thrown them on the Moby Dick with no explanation other than it was for their protection for what was supposed to be six months. They had been with the Whitebeard Pirates ever since.

Three years ago, at age seventeen, Ace was made the commander of the second division and Sabo was made his second in command. Both boys had accepted the positions happily and never looked back.

They were happy on the Moby Dick and they had thought Luffy was too.

"I told you I don't want it," Luffy yelled at Marco.

"Why not," the blonde asked.

The first division commander was trying to convince Luffy to take a small ship that Pops had gotten a hold of and had given to the youngest pirate. For some reason the boy refused. Not only that but he was insisting that he didn't want anyone to come with him to the East Blue where he planned to start building up his crew.

"Because that would be cheating. I'm going to become Pirate King on my own. I don't need Pops' help. I'll take the boat I got. Besides I can't control that ship on my own!"

"That's a row boat," Thatch pointed out looking at the pathetic excuse of a boat that Luffy had bought at the last island they were docked at. "You'll be lucky to get anywhere on that."

"It'll be fine," Luffy said nonchalantly sticking his finger up his nose.

"You're going to die before you even get to the first island," Marco yelled.

Over the years the years Luffy and the blonde had grown particularly close. Besides Ace and Sabo, Marco was the closest to the younger pirate. The first division commander didn't want him to go almost as much as the two older brothers.

"Don't be stupid Luffy," Sabo finally spoke up. "You should really take the ship and a few crew members with you. Just until you are able to find a navigator and a chef."

"And a doctor," Lyra, the doctor on board, spoke up. "A doctor is one of the first crew mates you should look for."

"How about me and Sabo go with you," Ace volunteered perking up a bit.

"No."

Whitebeard sat drinking his Sake, laughing at the scene. The man had tried to do everything in his immense power to make sure that Luffy would have a smooth send off and that he would be safe but every time the old man offered something Luffy turned him down with a 'No thanks' and a laugh. It was driving the two older brothers crazy. They respected their brother's desire and dreams, if they didn't they would have tied him down already, but that didn't mean that they were happy to see him go.

"Leave him be," the captain finally spoke up. "It's the East Blue. He'll be fine until he can find a crew."

Luffy grinned at the man. "Thanks Pops," he chirped.

Ace shook his head. A pirate captain should not chirp for any reason. Not if they were going to be a taken seriously anyway.

All attempts to convince the boy to take a better boat and a few crewmates with him stopped immediately.

The giant man turned his full attention to the straw hat boy. "You will be leaving tomorrow morning?"

"Yup!"

"Then let us celebrate! Luffy is following his dreams, let's send him off in style!"

A cheer sounded through most of the crew.

Ace and Sabo just continued their pouting.

They felt like they had every right to. They were being denied their right to go and protect their little brother. Who was going to rescue him when he got eaten by something? Or when he was kidnapped? True he had been able to fight his way away from those bounty hunters two months ago without a problem but that was beside the point. Without them there with him, Luffy was probably going to end up in a whirl pool or something and end up on some enemy pirate ship without even meaning to.

They were broken out of their thoughts when Luffy threw himself at Sabo and both brothers crashed into Ace, the rubber boy laughing the entire time.

"Cheer up! It's a party!"

"How can we party," Sabo asked pushing Luffy off of him so he could sit up.

"You're leaving tomorrow," Ace added.

Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Do you not want me to go?"

"No," both responded as one.

Luffy sat cross legged in front of them hand on his chin. "Well I suppose I could wait another year," he said thoughtfully.

"Or you could stay with us and not go at all," Ace said.

"Nope. I promised Shanks."

Sabo sighed. It was the same argument they had been having for over a month now. Luffy was going to go whether they wanted him to or not. He had made up his mind a long time ago. They were the ones that had given him the idea of leaving when he turned seventeen and tomorrow was his birthday.

"You should go," the blonde said sadly. He wanted his brother to stay but he didn't want to hold him back from his dreams.

"Don't listen to Sabo's crazy talk," Ace said jumping in front of the blonde so that he was blocking him from Luffy's view. "You should stay. We can become great pirates here, together.

"No. I want to be king of the pirates and I can't do that if I sale under Pops. I have to be captain of my own crew. Become stronger on my own. Have my own adventures."

Ace sighed in defeat. "Fine. But you're taking the den den mushi. No arguments."

"Why?" Luffy whined.

"Just in case," Sabo said.

Luffy studied both of them for a minute. "Why don't you want me to go," he finally asked looking uncharacteristically thoughtful.

The two brothers blinked. Then blinked again. "We just want you to be here with the family," Ace finally said.

"Is that it?"

"Yup."

Luffy grinned widely. "Come on let's party!" He jumped up and ran towards Marco, tackling the other man to the ground and wrapping his arms around him a few times.

Ace and Sabo watched amused. They would miss their little brother, more than they could say, but it was his choice and they had no right to stand in between him and his dream.

"He'll be fine." They both looked up to see their father and captain standing behind them, holding a large tankard. "He has a will like no other. I have no doubt that we will be meeting him one day in the New World and he will be stronger than ever before."

"But what if he gets hurt," Ace asked distressed.

"What if he gets captured by the marines in the first town he ends up in," Sabo questioned.

"What if-"

Whitebeard held up a hand to stop the questions. "If something happens to him then we will be there. He might be going off on his own but he still carries my mark and will forever be my son."

Reassured the brothers smiled and went to join the party.

Pops wouldn't let anything happen to Luffy.

That night Ace and Sabo ended up in Ace's cabin playing cards with Marco, Thatch, Izo, Namur, and Vista. So far the two brothers were winning leaving the older pirates distressed.

Ace threw down his hand smiling. "A royal flush," he announced.

The others groaned and threw their cards down.

"Wasn't I the one that taught you how to play," Thatch complained handing over the money he just lost.

"Yup." Ace smiled.

"Then why are you better than me?!"

"I guess you're just getting old," Ace said sticking out his tongue.

"I'll show you old!" Thatch was about to tackle the commander to the ground and show him a thing or two but he was stopped.

There was a quiet knock at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened slowly to reveal Luffy. "Oh sorry. I didn't know everyone would be here," he said rubbing his neck.

"Shouldn't you be resting," Sabo asked. "I thought you wanted to leave early."

"I did- I mean do." Luffy looked down, kicking his foot back and forth across the wood floor.

"Lu, is everything alright," the blonde asked standing up and walking across the room looking concerned.

"Yup. I'm great." The cheer in his voice was fake. The two older brothers traded a look.

"Games over," Ace announced.

The other commanders nodded before leaving, each stopping to say goodnight to Luffy. Once they were out of the room Sabo closed the door and the pushed Luffy across the room so that he was standing in front of Ace.

"What's wrong," the freckled man asked.

"Nothin'."

"Luffy," Sabo said with a warning in his voice to let him know that they weren't playing around.

Luffy, still looking down, looking unsure and biting his lip spoke. "What if I'm not strong enough?"

"What?"

"What if I'm not strong enough? What if I can't find anyone who wants to be on my crew? What if I end up alone?"

The last one struck both of them. They knew that even now, Luffy's greatest fear was being alone. He had spent the last ten years surrounded by people and he had thrived. He was now setting off by himself and for the first time since he had made the announcement that he was leaving months ago he was now showing doubt and fear.

"That's not going to happen," Sabo said putting a hand on the younger's shoulder placing a hand under his chin and forcing him to look up. "You're going to find people who are going to be on your crew and who will want to be with you. You're going to be strong enough to protect them and do what's necessary to keep them safe. You're going to be a great captain."

"But what if I'm not and what if I don't find anyone?"

"Then we'll come and get you," Ace said simply.

"But I'm leaving. I'm going to be competing against you guys. What if Pops won't let me back?"

Both older boys snorted a laugh at the thought. "Do you really think Pops wouldn't welcome you back with open arms," Ace asked grabbing Luffy by the arm and pulling him onto the bed. Sabo sat on the other side of the younger boy.

"We're all family. If things don't work out, and they will, you'll make it happen, then we'll just drag you back and you can try again when you're older," Sabo declared wrapping an arm tightly around Luffy's shoulders.

"There is no way we're going to let you end up alone little brother," Ace said rubbing Luffy's head.

The smaller boy's grin was back on his face. "Thanks. I feel better now."

He tried to get up to go back to his cabin with his old division. "Where do you think you're going," Sabo demanded tightening his grip.

"You're leaving tomorrow and we won't be seeing you for a long time," Ace said. "We're all staying the night in here tonight."

Ace threw his blankets on the ground. It would do for a makeshift bed so that they could all huddle together, Luffy in the middle of course.

The smaller brunette slept peacefully, unaware that his brothers sat up all night, dreading the morning.

"Well this is it," Luffy said standing on his tiny, not at all sea worthy, vessel. He put a hand on his hat so that it would fall off as he looked up towards the deck of the massive ship before him. "I'm off now!"

The crew all yelled goodbye and waved, some cried to see the boy go. He had grown up on that ship and the crew considered him family and now he was leaving.

"Safe travels my son," Whitebeard said.

"Thanks Pops. I'm going to miss you all!"

"Luffy! Be safe," Sabo cried leaning over the edge of the ship, making sure that he could be heard and seen by his brother.

"I will don't worry."

"Don't lose that den den mushi! If you need anything don't hesitate to call," Ace shouted.

Luffy was too far to see that both had tears in their eyes. Both were proud to see their brother finally go after the dream that he had talked about for so long. But it didn't stop their worry.

"I won't need to!" Luffy said as his little boat drifted further away from his family.

He continued to wave until he could only see a tiny speck in the distance. He sighed sitting down, opening his bag of food.

Man was he hungry.

He was going to miss Sabo and Ace and Pops and the rest of the family but his dreams were important to him and nothing was going to stand in his way.

He was going to find a crew and become stronger than Pops so that he would be able to protect everything and everyone that he loved. He was going to become King of the Pirates.

He just knew he would.

* * *

**So let me know what you think. Would anyone be interested in reading more about this AU? It would be an entirely new story and it would be a prequel to this chapter. It would be Ace, Luffy, and Sabo first arriving on the Moby Dick and adjusting to life on the ship. I actually have it pretty well planned out if anyone is interested.  
**

**Also if you have anything you want to see in this story I would love some prompts. **

**I do not write any romance though. I just can't. It doesn't turn out right when I try.  
**

**Let me know what you thought :)**


	4. Taking care of the sick

_Luffy age 10_

_Sabo and Ace age 13_

* * *

**Taking care of the sick**

Luffy sat curled up by the wall of the cave that he and his brothers were currently living in. Dadan and Ace got into a big fight a few weeks ago and the woman had kicked him out saying that he could come back when he learned some respect. Luffy and Sabo followed their brother instead of staying with the bandits.

And now Luffy was in a cave watching his brothers sleep not knowing how he could help them.

Ace and Sabo were sick and he didn't know what to do.

He's never had to take care of someone who was sick before.

For once his brothers needed him to act and take care of them and he didn't have the first clue how to help someone when they were sick. He remembered being sick twice when he was younger. Once Makino had offered to take care of him because Grandpa was out of town and nobody else wanted to do it. She had been really nice and gentle with him. He remembered her putting a wet cloth on his head and making him eat soup. That was really all he remembered.

The next time he was sick was with Shanks. The pirate and his crew had been on the island visiting and instead of spending his time drinking at the bar, like he usually did when he was in town, he had spent his time with Luffy. He had even let the boy on his ship. He remembered that Shanks had just held him almost the entire time and would tell him that everything would be alright. He didn't even make fun of Luffy once.

It had felt nice to have someone hold him when he wasn't feeling all that great.

Maybe that would help Ace and Sabo, but he somehow knew they wouldn't like it as much as he did.

But how could he help?

Especially when they didn't even want him around. Ace had yelled at him earlier to leave and Sabo had said that it was probably a good idea if he did, so that he wouldn't get sick.

Luffy didn't care if he got sick. He really wanted to help his big brothers. They always took care of him so why couldn't he take care of them?

Isn't that what brothers did?

He winced when he Sabo coughed on the other side of the cave. That really didn't sound too good.

His resolved strengthened he stood and decided to go see the one person he knew would be able to help him out.

Makino was always willing to help them out. Ace and Sabo didn't really like letting her help them but she did anyways with a smile on her face so Luffy was pretty sure that she would be able to tell him what to do to make his brothers feel better.

As predicted the woman knew exactly what to do. She said to make sure that they were warm, comfortable, drank plenty of liquids, and above all rested. She said several times to make sure that they stayed in bed so Luffy had to guess that it was really important that they did. Along with the advice she had insisted that he take some soup back to his two brothers, stating that nothing made someone feel better when they were sick than soup.

It smelled really good and Luffy really just wanted to eat it himself but it was to make Ace and Sabo feel better so every time he stopped in his journey back to the cave he reminded himself forcefully that it was for his brothers and it would make them better faster.

But it smelt so good.

Luffy walked faster so that he could just give the delicious smelling food to his brothers before he ate it all himself.

He stumbled into the cave noisily. The journey had taken most of the day and he was tired. Unusually so. He looked over and saw that Ace and Sabo were still asleep. He was hoping that they would be feeling a little better by the time he got back.

He made his way to Ace and reached out to shake him awake. "Luffy? What do you want? I told you to leave."

"I-I brought you some soup," he said holding out the container that held the soup as a piece offering. "Makino said that it would make you feel better."

He placed the soup down in front of Ace before moving to shake Sabo.

"You went all the way to Fuchsia," Sabo asked as he and Ace sat, blankets around their shoulders, gratefully drinking the soup.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to Makino about something. She gave me some food and I brought it back," he explained.

Ace shook his head. "You probably should have just stayed with her that way you wouldn't get sick too. Plus the roads are dangerous right now after we-"

"You," Sabo interrupted.

"Fine. After I pissed off those thugs last week. They're probably still looking for us."

Luffy just shrugged as he built up the fire a bit. He had seen Sabo shivering a while ago and wanted his big brothers to be comfortable.

"I'll be fine," he smiled at them.

Ace ran a hand tiredly down his face and reached for one of their water skinss and sighed when he picked it up. "We're almost out of water. I'm going to go get some."

"No!" Luffy shrieked. Makino said that they needed lots of rest and getting water was not restful. "I'll get it. You rest. You're sick. When you're sick you're supposed to sleep lots so you go to sleep and I'll go get some water for you and Sabo."

"Luffy, what if you fall in the river again," his blonde brother asked him.

"I won't fall in!"

"Sure you won't," Ace said sarcastically as he stood shakily.

"I won't! I'll stay where it's not too deep."

Ace sighed and shook his head. "Fine just don't drown or anything."

Luffy smiled at his success when Ace threw the skin at him and laid back down. He gathered Sabo's and his water skins and the barrel they kept extra water in and set out to the river. It hadn't been a bad trip. He was able to get all the water without incident.

He smiled to himself when he entered the cave very proud that he had been able to do the chore. His smile widened when he saw that both his brothers were sound asleep.

Good. That meant that he was doing stuff right.

He looked around for other things he could do and noticed that their fire wood was a little low. He'd go get more wood.

He turned back around and exited the cave. He went into the forest and started gathering dry branches and sticks. He was happy with the bundle that he had and was going to start back to the cave when a nasally voice stopped him.

"Oi, aren't you that brat that runs with Ace and Sabo?"

He turned to see a group of thugs starting to surround him. He recognized the speaker as the guy that Ace had beaten up and stole from last week.

This was bad.

He wasn't sure if he could take them all at once.

"What if I am," he asked trying to sound tough.

The man smirked. "I need to send Ace a message." The man started walking towards Luffy. The boy backed up, still holding the fire wood, and hit something that definitely wasn't a tree. He looked up to see a large man glaring down at him and cracking his knuckles.

Seeing no other way to handle the situation Luffy dropped the wood and jumped away from the large man and stood so that he was now facing both of them in a defensive position. The both smirked and advanced on him.

He stood his ground with his fists clenched.

Then he heard something behind him. He turned just in time to see another man about to stab him in the back with a dagger. He quickly turned and hissed when it sliced his arm.

It didn't stop him though.

He swung his foot around and hit the man in the face and Luffy was satisfied when he fell to the ground and slid several feet. Luffy didn't stop though. He turned and with his fist clenched sent a gum-gum pistol into the speakers gut.

The big guy came after him and he jumped up and then brought his foot down on the man's head.

Another thug came out of nowhere with a gun and shot him.

Luffy hated when they used guns. It would always just leave a bruise that was painful enough to be annoying.

He felt his body stretch to accommodate the force of the bullet and then force the bullet out and into the guy who fell back, clutching his now wounded shoulder.

He looked around at the men all moaning in various amounts of pain. He picked up his fired wood and ran the rest of the way to the cave before anyone else could jump him.

He dropped the wood just inside the cave.

"Keep it down," Ace mumbled as he turned over.

"That you Lu," Sabo's tired voice asked and Luffy winced. He hadn't meant to wake his brothers.

"Yeah. Sorry about the noise."

"Okay, glad you made it back with the food safely."

Luffy's brow furrowed. He hadn't gone to get food. Did he need to?

He hit himself in the head. Of course he needed to get food.

Ace and Sabo had to eat.

Not to mention he needed to eat too. He hadn't eaten all day. He had gone to Fuchsia in the morning and then got back with the soup for Ace and Sabo but he hadn't eaten yet.

He turned to go out of the cave again and frowned when he felt something wet on his arm. He looked down. That's right, he'd been cut. He'd have to take care of that first.

As quietly as he could so that he wouldn't disturb his once again sleeping brothers and pulled out a bandage from their supply. He wrapped it around his arm. Satisfied with his job he nodded once and then went to go collect something to eat.

There were some fruit trees not too far from here. He picked up a bag so that he'd be able to carry plenty of fruit back and ran out.

It took about fifteen minutes to find the trees. He took is time gathering enough apples to fill the bag. By the time he started back the sun had begun to set. He picked up the pace so that he wouldn't have to be outside at night on his own when there were still people out there that wanted revenge on Ace.

He froze when he saw a couple of wolves sniffing around the entrance to the cave.

That wasn't good.

Ace and Sabo were sleeping. If the wolves attacked then his brothers wouldn't be able to defend themselves.

He set his bag down and picked up a big heavy stick and charged the wolves. He hit one on the head. The other snarled at him before jumping into the air and attacked him. Luffy swung the stick and caught him in the stomach and sent him flying. He smiled in triumph but his victory didn't last long as the other wolf sank its teeth into Luffy's shoulder.

He wanted to scream in pain but this close to the cave he knew that it would wake his brothers and it was important for them to sleep when they were sick. He took the stick and beat to wolf on the head until it let go of his shoulder.

He continued to hit the wolves until they finally left. He allowed himself a breath of relief before he retrieved his back and finally entered the cave.

Ace and Sabo were both sitting up by the fire and looked like they were finishing off the rest of the soup. There had been extra?

Luffy walked on the edge of the cave, making sure to stay out of the fire light. His brothers got mad when he was hurt and he didn't want to get them worked up so he would just wait until tomorrow to treat his new wound.

"Hey Luffy," Sabo greeted casually.

"Hey. You feeling any better?"

"A bit," Ace responded.

"That's good." Luffy dropped the bag, happy that his brothers were feeling better.

Taking care of people was hard.

It had been a very long day for him. His shoulder really hurt now, so did his arm, and he was really tired. He also had a headache and really just wanted to lie down.

"Do you need anything else," he asked his brothers.

"No Luffy we're fine," Ace said watching him from where he sat by the fire.

"Okay. I'm going to sleep now. Let me know if you need anything."

With that Luffy was out like a light.

* * *

Sabo stretched as he woke. He felt much better than he had been. He got over whatever he had rather quickly. It had helped that he was able to just lay down and sleep and not have to worry about anything. Luffy had been surprisingly helpful since they had gotten sick. Sabo had somehow caught a cold and passed it onto Ace. They were both struck surprisingly hard but he was thankfully feeling better now.

He stepped out of the dank cave they had been staying in and took a deep breath. It sure was nice to be able to breathe through his nose again.

He smiled as Ace ran to him from down the road and joined him. "Where were you," he asked his brother.

"Just checking to make sure those thugs weren't anywhere around here." Ace shrugged. So he was feeling better too. That's good.

"Want to go hunt for breakfast," Sabo asked grinning at his brother.

"Sounds like fun but there are some apples that we can eat. Then we'll start looking for something good for lunch. It'll be nice to stretch my legs after spending all day asleep."

Sabo shook his head fondly. "Luffy really got a little crazy didn't he?"

"Yeah. It was just a cold. It's not like we were dying or anything. We could have handled the day to day things."

"We could have. But he didn't want us to have to worry about anything while we were sick. He did a good job. He really stepped up," Sabo stated.

"He really did," Ace agreed smiling fondly.

"We'll have to take him to get some of that soup he brought us to say thank you. It was really good."

"If you say so," Ace shrugged. "Is he still asleep?"

"Yeah. I think so."

Ace smiled evilly. "I think I'll just go and wake him up."

"What are you going to do," Sabo asked.

Ace didn't say anything. His smile just widened.

Sabo shook his head as Ace ran into the cave and waited for Luffy's scream.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Sabo's head snapped around when it was Ace's voice he heard and not Luffy's. He ran to see what was wrong. Ace was leaning over Luffy who was weakly trying to push him away.

"What's wrong," He demanded dropping to the ground next to his brothers.

"He's bleeding!"

"I'm fine," Luffy said trying to once again push Ace's hands off.

"No you're not!"

Sabo put a hand on Ace's shoulder and calmly asked. "Why are you bleeding Luffy?"

"Wolf."

"I'm sorry did you just say wolf? You were attacked by a wolf?" Ace asked.

"I attacked some wolves," Luffy said sitting up.

"W-why would you do that?" The older brunette demanded. Sabo shook his head in exasperation. It was one thing to fend yourself from a wolf and another to attack one.

"It was going to attack you guys while you were sleepin'."

"I think you better tell us exactly what you did while we were sick, Luffy," Sabo said.

Fifteen minutes later Sabo was outside with his brothers tending to Luffy's wounds where he could see better. Apparently he had a very exciting day yesterday.

Luffy was happily munching on an apple as he watched Ace pace back and forth angrily muttering to himself.

"How dare they do that to _my_ little brother? If they wanted a fight they should have come after me. I'm the one that messed with them. Not Luffy."

"Why's Ace so mad," Luffy asked looking up at the blonde.

"Because those guys tried to kill you to get to him," Sabo said as he finished wrapping the cut on Luffy's arm. It was pretty deep and it might need stiches. He'd have to keep an eye on it.

"They didn't try to kill me."

"They came at you with a knife and shot you," Sabo pointed out.

"But they can't kill me with a gun. I'm made outta rubber."

"Yeah but they didn't know that."

Luffy sneezed in response.

Sabo frowned. "You're not sick are you?"

Luffy shrugged and Sabo put a hand on his forehead. He gave resigned sigh. "You're sick. Come on let's get you into bed."

Sabo put an arm around Luffy's shoulder and led him back into the cave. They would deal with the thugs later. Right now he had a sick little brother to take care of.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. Thanks to those who gave me some ideas. I'm working on some of them right now.**

**Let me know what you think.**

**P.S. Anyone who was interested in the prequel to Farewell and hasn't seen, it's up now. It's called Somewhere to Belong.**


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